The emergence and evolution of ambiguous ideas: an innovative application of social network analysis to support systematic literature reviews

Thomas Cowhitt (), Joshua Travis Brown () and Anthony Lising Antonio ()
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Thomas Cowhitt: University of Glasgow
Joshua Travis Brown: Johns Hopkins University
Anthony Lising Antonio: Stanford University

Scientometrics, 2024, vol. 129, issue 11, No 21, 7005-7033

Abstract: Abstract Systematic literature reviews are attempts to understand conversations between researchers working to develop solutions to common problems. These conversations often stretch back decades and can involve the participation of dozens of authors. Traditional approaches to systematic reviews are ill-equipped to make sense of the sheer volume of relevant literature when exploring the emergence and evolution of ambiguous ideas across large knowledge communities. This article presents three innovative applications of Social Network Analysis (SNA) methods to explore the emergence and evolution of accountability in higher education across a collection of 450 peer-reviewed articles published from 1974-2017 and their corresponding 12,270 references. First, qualitative data from articles and references were integrated into new interactive joint displays called Narrated Network Diagrams, creating opportunities to more accurately assess themes and meanings in literature by connecting structures in co-citation networks with relevant relational stories. Second, time was elevated in the analysis procedure to capture the dynamism of knowledge formation. Third, underutilized descriptive network statistics were applied to the co-citation network analysis to generate new insights such as different mechanisms for authors gaining influence in a knowledge community. Ultimately, this article presents an innovative longitudinal Mixed Methods Social Network Analysis (MMSNA) approach to systematic literature reviews, significantly advancing previous SNA methods integration in this critical research practice.

Keywords: Systematic literature review; Social network analysis; Co-citation network; Accountability; Higher education; Education policy; 97B40 Educational policy for higher education, 91D30 Social networks; opinion dynamics, 91C20 Clustering in the social and behavioral sciences (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D83 D85 Z18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1007/s11192-024-05144-7

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